Attachment for cigar-branding machines or the like.



PATENTBD AUG. 2, 1904.

W. M. CAMPBELL.

ATTACHMENT FOR CIGAR BRANDING MACHINES OR THE LIKE:

APPLICATION FILED APR.14. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

' W. M. CAMPBELL.

ATTACHMENT FOR CIGAR BRANDING MACHINES OR THE LIKE.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. 14. 1904.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

N0 MODEL,

UNITED STATES Patented August 2, 1904.

PATENT ()FFICE.

ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM H. BAt

SETTS.

)HELLER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHU- ATTACHIVIENT FOR CIGAR-BRANDING IVIACHINES OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 766,492, dated August 2, 1904.

Application filed April 14, 1904. Serial No. 201,395. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, \VALLAOE M. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Sufi'olk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Cigar- Branding Machines or the Like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an attachment for cigarbranding machines and the like, and is particularly designed to be applied to a machine of this class to receive the cigars as they are discharged from the machine and collect them in an orderly fashion.

In the manufacture of cigars it is common to brand the cigars before they are packed, and for this purpose branding-machines have been devised through which the cigars are passed and from which they have heretofore been discharged indiscriminatelythat is, without any orderly arrangement upon a table or the like. It has been necessary, therefore, again to collect the cigars into a pile and to arrange all of the butts upon the same side of the pile and then to transfer the pile to the usual trunk or other receptacle within which it is customary to store the branded cigars until packed in the boxes in which they are sold. It will thus be seen that after the cigars leave the branding-machine it has heretefore been necessary to subject them to considerable handling and as a result the wrappers of many of the cigars were broken and otherwise injured, rendering those cigars untit for use. These injured cigars have to be repaired or discarded, and this, together with the time required to collect and arrange the cigars after they leave the branding-machine, has been an item of expense which has added considerably to the cost of manufacture.

The objects of my invention are to provide an attachment for cigar branding machines and the like into which the branded cigars will be discharged and collected in orderly fashion without requiring handling and from which the cigars may be removed without liability of injury to the cigars.

My invention consists in an attachment comprising a screw rotatably supported in a fixed position with relation to a cigar-branding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw, an independently-portable receptacle having a movable bottom, and means separably connecting the nut and the movable bottom. In the best form of my invention means is also provided to hold the movable bottom within the receptacle when disconnected from the nut with provision for removal of said bottom when the receptacle is to be emptied.

By this construction the receptacle when filled can be removed and carried about independently of the other parts of the attachment and an empty receptacle substituted for it. Thus a number of receptacles can be used with a single screw and correlated mechanism which can be successively tilled and stored away until the cigars are to be packed into the boxes in which they are sold. In this way less handling of the cigars is required than heretofore, because they do not have to be collected and arranged upon being discharged from the branding-machine as heretofore and because it is possible to remove them from the receptacle onto a packing-table or the like by propermanipulation of the receptacle without disturbing their parallel arrangement wherein all of the butts are on the same side of the pile and without touching them with the hands.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my new attachment for cigarbranding machines and the like. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the attachment shown in Fig. 1, showing the receptacle hereinafter described partly in place. Fig. 3 is a detail of the nut hereinafter described.

Having reference to the drawings, 1 represents-a base upon which are fixed two uprights 2 and 3, which support a branding-machine -L of usual construction, only a portion of the frame of the latter being shown in the drawings. Fixed to the frame of the branding-machine l is a bracket 5, on which isjournaled the upper end of a screw 6, the lower end of which is journaled on base 1. i

through a longitudinal slot 71 in receptacle 7 from a nut 10, mounted upon screw 6. As shown in Fig. 3, nut 10 is made with two spring-pressed jaws 11 in engagement with the threads of screw 6, so that by operating jaws 11 nut 10 can be freed from screw 6 and ceptacle-bottom 8.

moved by hand lengthwise of the screw for the purpose hereinafter pointed out. Screw 6 carries at its upper end a beveled pinion 12, in mesh with a beveled gear 13, fixed to a shaft 14, journaled in bearings onbracket 5. Shaft It also carries a spur-gear 15, in mesh with a pinion 16, fixed to a short shaft 17, journaled on the frame of the branding-machine 1. To the outer end of shaft 17 is fixed a crank 18, by means of which shafts 17 and 1'4 can be rotated to actuate screw 6, and thereby raise or lower nut 10 and with it the re- Near its lower end receptacle 7 has an opening 72 made through its front wall, in which is supported a removable bar 19, projecting across the interior of receptacle 7 in the path of bottom 8.

It will thus be seen that receptacle 7 is selfcontained and separable from the other parts of the attachmentthat is, said receptacle is independently portable and can be quickly disengaged from nut 10 and quickly removed or replaced, the only requisite being to engage socket 81 with arm 9 in placing the receptacle in position. It will also be seen that when socket 81 is not in engagement with arm 9 the bottom 8 will be supported by the bar 19 and that to remove the bottom 8 all that is necessary is to withdraw bar 19.

When the receptacle 7 is in place, its upper end is in close proximity to the mechanism (not shown) of the branding-machine 4, so that said mechanism practically closes that end and prevents access to the interior. For this reason and because it is sometimes necessary to have access to the upper end of the receptacle while it is being filled the upper end of the front wall of the receptacle is made with a hinged panel 20, which can be lowered to admit the hand of the operator. As a matter of convenience in handling the receptacle I also provide a handle 21 upon the front wall thereof.

The operation of the attachment is as follows: A previously-filled receptacle 7 having been removed, an empty one, with its bottom 8 resting on its bar 19, is placed in position on base 1 with the socket 81 in engagement with arm 9. The latches 11 are then disengaged from screw 6 and nut 10 slid upwardly to the top of screw 6, said nut acting through its arm 9to lift the bottom 8 with it. When released, the latches reengage screw 6, which then supports nut 10 and the movable bottom The branding-machine is then started and as the cigars fall into receptacle 7 the operator turns crank 18 and lowers nut 10 and bottom 8 at a speed sufiicient to keep the top level of the cigars from raising above the desired pointthat is, the operator by means of crank 18 lowers bottom 8 at a rate of speed sufiicient to maintain the top level of the cigars within receptacle 7 at such a point that the entering cigars will have sufficient distance to fall to clear the mechanism of the brandingmachine, but not so great a distance that they will rebound or become disarranged within the receptacle. This distance the operator soon learns accurately to gage by watching the entering cigars. WVhen the receptacle is full, the branding-machine is stopped and the operator using the handle 21 slides the receptacle out from between uprights 2 and 3 and either substitutes an empty one or replaces the same receptacle after having emptied it. When the filled receptacle is removed, the arm 9 is withdrawn from socket 81 without requiring the attention of the operator and the bottom 8 rests upon and is supported by the bar 19.

In emptying a filled receptacle said receptacle is placed upon the packers table or upon the bottom of the usual storage box or trunk and bar 19 removed, which causes the bottom 8 to rest upon said table or truckbottom. The receptacle is then lifted until its lower end just clears the lowest side of bottom 8 and then is tilted until the upper side of bottom 8 clears the lower end of said receptacle. The bottom 8 beingthen accessible, the operator slides it out from under the receptacle, at the same time letting the receptacle settle back toward the table. The advantage of the inclined form of bottom 8 in facilitating depositing the cigars upon the table will be obvious. The operator now lifts the receptacle, allowing the cigars to escape from the lower end thereof onto the table without disturbing their parallel arrangement. By moving the receptacle back and forth sidewise the cigars can be spread out over the table as desired. When the receptacle is empty, the bottom 8'and the bar 19 are replaced and it is ready for use again. Another reason for making the bottom 8 inclined, as shown in Fig. 2, is because at the start of the filling operation the first cigars to enter the receptacle are apt in striking directly upon the bottom 8 to rebound more energetically and twist about more than those which enter later; but in rolling down the inclined bottom they will tend to assume aparallel or orderly position. Thus the curved covered with cigars the tendency to rebound is not so great and can be controlled by maintaining the top level of the cigars at the proper point.

My new attachment is simple in its construction, easily operated, and is most effective in preventing injury to the cigars through handling, because it dispenses with the necessity heretofore existing for collecting and arranging the cigars after they leave the branding-machine and of transporting them by handfuls to the packers table or to the storagetrnnk. However careful an operator might be the several handlings to which they have heretofore necessarily been subjected has damaged a considerable number of the cigars, entailing no small loss. By the use of my new attachment the only handling of the cigars after they leave the branding-machine is when they are packed into the boxes in which they are sold.

hat I claim is- 1. An attachment for cigar-branding machines and the like comprising a screw, means rotatably to support said screw in a fixed position with relation to a cigar-branding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw, an independentlyportablereceptacle having amovable bottom, and means separably connecting the nut on the screw and the movable bottom.

2. An attachment for cigar-branding machines and the like comprising a screw, means rotatably to support said screw in a fixed position with relation to a cigar-branding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw, an independentlyportable receptacle having a movable bottom, means separably connecting the nut on the screw and the movable bottom, and means to support the movable bottom when the receptacle is removed from operative position with relation to the other parts of the attachment.

3. An attachment for cigar-branding machines or the like comprising a screw, means rotatably to support said screw in a fixed position with relation to a cigarbranding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw, an independentlyportable receptacle having a movable bottom, means separably connecting the nut on the screw and the movable bottom, and means to support the movable bottom when the receptacle is removed from operative position with relation to the other parts of the attachment, said means providing for removal of said bottom when the receptacle is to be emptied.

a. An attachment for cigar-branding machines comprising a screw, means rotatably to support said screw in a fixed position with relation to a cigar-branding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw, an independently-portable receptacle having an inclined movable bottom, and means separably connecting the nut and the movable bottom.

5. An attachment for cigar-branding machines comprising a screw, means rotatably to support said screw in a fixed position with relation to a cigar-branding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw, said nut comprising a movable jaw adapted to be operated at will to engage or disengage the screw, an independently-portable receptacle having a movable bottom, and means separably connecting the nut and the movable bottom.

6. An attachment for cigar-branding machines comprising a screw, means rotatably to support said screw in a fixed position with relation to a cigarbranding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw provided with an arm, and an independently portable receptacle having a movable bottom provided with a socket to engage the arm on said nut.

7. An attachment for cigar-branding machines or the like comprising a screw, means rotatably to support said screw in a fixed position with relation to a cigar-branding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw provided with an arm, and an independently-portable receptacle made with a longitudinal slot through its wall to admit said arm and having a movable bottom made with a socket adapted to engage said arm when the receptacle is placed in position.

8. An attachment for cigar-branding machines or the like comprising a screw, means rotatably to support said screw in a fixed position with relation to a cigar-branding machine or the like, means to operate the screw, a nut mounted on said screw, an independently-portable receptacle having a removable bottom, a movable bar mounted on said receptacle and extending across the lower end thereof to support said bottom, and means separably connecting the nut and the removable bottom.

Signed by me, at Boston, this 30th day of March, 1904.

\NALLACE M. CAMPBELL. WV itnesses JOSEPH T. BRENNAN, J osernmu H. RYAN 

